“Epic” Giveaway for “A Memory of Light” Begins Today!

Note to Commenters & Readers:

The first of the 3 x copies of “A Memory of Light” provided by Hachette NZ for giveaway to Australian & New Zealand readers has now been drawn, Here.

But there are still 2 copies left to give away: 1 to be drawn & the result posted on New Year’s Eve, December 31st, and the 3rd and final draw on January 7, the day before worldwide release.

All entries on this post will go forward for the 2nd and 3rd draws, but to get your name in a second time , or just to enter for the first time, post a comment on your favourite Wheel of Time character, Here.

* All dates are New Zealand time.

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I am very pleased to confirm that my NZ publisher, Hachette, has given me the opportunity to giveaway not 1, but 3 copies of A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan/Brandon Sanderson—to Australian and New Zealand readers.

A Memory of Light is the 14th novel in Robert Jordan’s epic The Wheel of Time (WoT) series that began in 1990 with publication of The Eye of the World. The subsequent instalments in the series continued to be published over the next 22 years, generating a committed fan base, and surviving the death of Robert Jordan in 2007. Using Jordan’s extensive notes, Brandon Sanderson picked up authorship of the series and has written the final 3 novels.

Now the 14th and final novel, A Memory of Light, will be released on 8 January, 2013 — and I have 3 copies available for giveaway to Australian and New Zealand readers.

But because this book marks completion of such a major epic fantasy series, I want to maximize your opportunities to win, so…

Here’s How the Giveaway for the 3 Copies of A Memory of Light Will Work:

I’m going to be making the draw for 1 of the 3 copies each week for the next 3 weeks: so the first winner will be drawn a week from now on 24 December; the second draw will be made on 31 January; and the third and final draw will be on Monday January 7 — just 1 day ahead of A Memory of Light‘s release.

I will be featuring a Giveaway post both today and the following two Mondays (24th and 31st respectively)—& all you have to do to enter the draw is post a comment on any or all of these posts, answering the (easy-peasy!) question I shall pose each time.

If you comment today and are not successful on the first draw, your name will go through automatically into the subsequent draws (and so on.) And if you comment again on the 24th, that comment will count as an additional entry for the second draw; ditto for the 31st and the third and final draw (on January 7.)

Note: Each draw will be made using Random.Org with the results posted on the blog on 24 and 31 December, and 7 January respectively. If the winners have not contacted me by Friday 11 January at the latest, I shall re-draw for any of the books that are unclaimed. The books will be forwarded by Hachette NZ.

And Here’s Today’s Question:

The Wheel of Time is an immensely personal series for me. The books have been a part of my life since I was 10 years old. I have fond memories of waiting impatiently for my big brother to finish reading each new book, then steal-ahem-borrowing them from his bookshelf.

In my opinion, nobody writes fantasy like RJ, and BS has done a fantastic job wrapping up the story. Love the strong female characters, the male/female dynamic, and of course the incredible world that RJ created.

I’m originally from England, and now live in New Zealand. I’ve always loved reading and when I first moved here, about 7 years ago, I went to my local library to find a good book to read.

In the teen section I found a little book called “From the Two Rivers” which is the first half of the Eye of the World. I figured I’d give it a go, and the rest is history. I was hooked from the first chapter and I’ve stuck with the series ever since. It is the best book series I have ever read and I’ve loved every minute of it.

Getting to know the characters, places, cities, cultures. The huge sweeping narrative and the tiny seemingly insignificant details, it’s like nothing I have ever read before or since. The sheer scale of the story could be overwhelming if it weren’t so well written. The Wheel of Time was, when I first picked it up, and still is, many years later, a dazzling example of epic fantasy at it’s best.

So why am I a fan of the Wheel of Time series? All these reasons and more. More than I can list on here and more than I can think of right now off the top of my head.

I think one major reason is the richness of the story and the characters in it, from the smallest sheep herder to the Dragon himself. Seeing the development of them throughout the series and seeing how they are all woven together in the great Pattern we know as the Wheel of Time.

I can’t wait for January. Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time..

I am actually pretty new to the series. but I have been sucked into this fantastic story! the detail in the character development is superb. The sheer volume of story that has been packed in, makes rereads a joy as you see things that are missed. again and again. I love the breakthrough the Robert Jordan put in place, for how stories are written. He raised the bar. and no one has come close yet.

I started out reading wheel of time as a teenager disillusioned with current sci-fi and epic fantasy. Little did i realise what i had gotten myself into.
Although the original story lured me in with it’s deftly woven storylines and immaculate background and world building, it is the growth (and sometimes death) of the cast of characters that has kept me coming back for each new release. Jordan’s ability to make us feel for an increasingly erratic Rand and his dubious motivations, or to like Tuon while disagreeing with her entire culture and belif system, was masterful. Brian Sanderson’s talent has been marvelously directed into keeping all the charcters alive as their stories travel the wheel.
My motivations for reading (and re-reading) have changed and evolved over the years as i have matured along with characters i have grown to love and hate, but the artistry and deftness with which the stories have been woven always keep me coming back.

His story is rich and alive. Fillled with complex ideas and plots. It drips from the pages like honey. His charaters are deep, fully formed and dynamic. They grow throught the series like real people. They change. Some that are good become bad, some bad become good. And others yet we are still unsure of! His descriptions and mechanisims of things alien to us, such as sadin and sadar, are so thought out, that it leaves us with no doubt, this is is hapening, just as we read it!

I am a fan because this was the first fantasy series I ever read and none have compared since. Robert Jordan’s scope, character development and writing style is unparalleled in my opinion. I am so excited to read the final book but I am also conflicted because I don’t want the story to end.

The ‘why’ is probably the easiest thing to answer in regards to being a fan and liking the WoT series. It’s a great read; it’s so engaging you lose yourself and find yourself exploring Randland through the combined effort of the imagination and the written word.

From the first prologue and chapter of ‘the eye of the world’, I was hooked and have just enjoyed the journey, repeatedly I might add Its something you can come back to, it never ages.

The most compelling reason as to why I am a fan of WoT is probably the humour throughout (Such as Mat, Perrin and Rand always complaining they never understand women and the constant grief Lan has to go through from being attached to such a strong willed woman)

Ever since reading Tolkien and Robert E Howard as a teenager I have loved Sword and Sorcery and particulary Sword and Sorcery Epics. Robert Jordon with this series lifted the bar on the meaning of ‘Epic’. I know of no other series which comes within even begins to compare with the the scope, plotlines or number of characters in this story. It is the yardstick I useto measure other works of fantasy. it is a work you can continue to read year after year and with each reading you experience a deeper understanding of this very complex work. I am very glad after so many years to be able to finally read its ending.

I discovered the wheel of time only three years ago but it became my favorite book at once. It’s full of adventure and magic, plots and twists. But I guess what I love the most is the characters development. What Robert Jordan did with Rand is incredible, the evolution of his traits of character is something very powerful and I like reading again the old books to see the differences, to wonder how a later Rand would have reacted. Of course that works wih other protagonists but to a lesser extent.
Anyway, I don’t really care about Christmas right now, all I want is the last book, the end of the story !

The series was one of the first large series of books I read and there are not too many that stand up to it. It is the imagery of the characters and scenery that Robert Jordan created that I enjoyed. The prologue of the Eye of the world with Lews Therin has to be the best opening to a book I have read. It drew me in and I have been a fan since. I love the mysteries of the series like who killed Asmodean, and what do Egwene’s dream mean. Sad to see the story end but can’t wait to read AMOL.

The series to me is not just a tale of a single main character, it is a multitude of characters all living and adventuring at the same time in the same universe. They intertwine and effect each other and provide me with a discriptive picture of everything that has, was, and will be again.

Though The Hobbit was my first fantasy novel, The Wheel of Time series completely hooked me into the fantasy genre. The characters, the unpredictability, and the world creation of Robert Jordan all made sure the books are finished pretty quickly.

I’ll be in the minority but i found that i related to Perrin really early on in the series and followed it for him. The setting is excellent, the magic system is excellent, the characters like old friends.

I have been reading this series for almost 20 years now, more than half of my life, and I still think it is one of the best series ever written. The scale is phenomenal, the characters are brilliantly written (mostly), and I love the story. I always go back and re read every time a new book comes out – I just can’t wait for Jan 8th!

I am an easy reader and most of the stuff people complain about I don’t see at all or just ignore and go with the flow of the story. Of which there is a lot. I wasn’t expecting 14 novels and neither was R Jordan.

In a world where careers can be made and lost in 140 characters (yes that post-dates the start of the series but the concept is valid) something with substance is appreciated.

I am a fan of The Wheel of Time series because of its epic nature. The settings and histories are rich and very detailed. The characters are all fully ‘fleshed-out’ and have rich histories of their own. They are flawed in realistic ways and engaging all the time. Even the villains like The Forsaken and Padan Fain. I am looking forward to the final book and also dreading it. Because then I will have to leave the WoT world. I am a huge fan of the series and would love to win a copy.

I like WoT because it is a fundamentally simple story (essentially the archetypal fantasy story) told with a level of depth and detail. Most characters have a voice, including servants of the Dark Lord, and the politics and thaumaturgy behind the white tower intrigues me (I could read a whole series just on the recent events of Tar Valon alone).

It’s quite simple for me really – growing up with these books, this series, the characters have become my friends (or foes :P), the setting has become the playground of my mind’s eye, and the themes that echo throughout the pages continue to challenge my own beliefs. I find it also pretty cool that the first book was published in the year of my birth and that it was the first Adult fiction series I really got into. Thank you everybody connected to Team Jordan for the opportunities that have been presented to us through these books, and to you Ms Lowe for holding such a competition.

I’ve been married 4 years, after about a year of marriage my husband wanted me to read a series of books that he’d been reading since early high school. This was the first major fantasy book I had read and I Loved it!! I am now racing to reread the 2nd to last book as a refresher before the final comes out.my husband has scheduled a day of work to read when the book comes out!!

While I may only be up to the seventh book, I am already emotionally attached to some of the characters and their deeds. One of which is Moiraine Damodred, who I find personifies the same virtues of other great witches and wizards, such as Gandalf, making her a truly amazing character and adviser (both in the books and for real life situations).

I am a fan of these books because despite driving me absolutely mad, even my frustation, ranting and pedantry stems from the fact that these books draw me in, absorb me and inspire more passion and emotion than any other fantasy series ever has

Having already gone through several works of fantasy, reading the wheel of time series was my first real step into high fantasy and is a series that will stay with me at the back of my mind as a masterpiece. The characters were incredibly well developed throughout the series, such as Egwene’s growth of confidence in the transition from a simple farm-girl to the mighty Amyrlin Seat and Rand’s acceptance as the Dragon. The plot, while being the typical light vs evil is detailed enough to feel completely distinct from other fantasy series. My most favourite thing about this series by far however is the way that each character has his/her own chapter, not just Rand’s.

"THE HEIR OF NIGHT by Helen Lowe is a richly told tale of strange magic, dark treachery and conflicting loyalties, set in a well realized world."--Robin Hobb

Thornspell

Jacket art by Antonio Javier Caparo

Thornspell is my first novel and is published by Knopf (Random House Children's Books, USA). It won the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2009 for Best Novel: Young Adult and was a Storylines Childrens' Literature Trust Notable Book 2009.